There’s A Bear On My Chair
Reviewed By Grasshopper2 August 3, 2015
Author Ross Collins
Distributor:
ISBN: 978 0 85763 393 4
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Release Date:
Website: http://www.allenandunwin.com
The end pages of this book are blank, except for an empty chair with a cushion. One gets the feeling that it is not an important part of the nursery furniture. When a young mouse arrives in his room, he sees a bear, sitting on HIS very chair! The chair has suddenly become the most desirable thing for the mouse. He can think of many reasons why the bear should vacate the chair. “It’s hard to share with a bear”
The mouse tries many strategies to remove the bear. This is problem solving at its finest!
Mouse gives bear a “Nasty Glare”, and ignores bear when he dresses up to look suspiciously like Elvis. Mouse tries to tempt bear away from the chair with a pear …to no avail. Then mouse tries to give bear a scare, by “Jumping out in his underwear.” Now bear is called “Stinky Bear”, and mouse’s temper is getting frayed. Mouse understands that Polar bears are endangered, but in the end (after a large temper tantrum), he leaves the grinning bear to sit in the chair. Bereft of his audience, bear leaves as well.
The illustrations in this book are subtle and superb. Each double page spread has a full light background colour (except for the temper tantrum which is RED). On each page we have a simplistic bear outline drawn with crayon, and coloured with paint wash.
The mouse is also on each page in various poses, from glaring to pleading. There is so much to read into these sparse pictures as we follow the mouse’s journey to despair and the bear’s complacent teasing. The simple illustrations clearly show the moods, and feelings of the characters.
Children reading this book can see the problem solving that is applied by mouse. Issues of right and wrong and teasing are also evident, but how is mouse to behave? What is he to do?
There will be many suggestions forthcoming, from young readers, but in the end we discover that a teaser doesn’t like his victim to leave. There is a rather powerful message here! In this gentle, rhyming story, will Bear ever find out just what it is like to be teased? I think so.